Patient Profile: A Follow Up with Meredith Cronin

Meredith Cronin

Breast Cancer

You may remember Meredith Cronin from our three-part breast cancer series in October. She shared her experience of being diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer seven years ago at the age of 37. She had three young children at the time and remembered being grateful that she was so busy with her family that she didn’t have time to become weighed down by her illness. “Attitude is everything,” she told us. Meredith wanted as much time as possible with her family so she did everything she could to combat the cancer and make sure it wouldn’t come back. She had a double mastectomy, she did chemotherapy and radiation, and she got a second opinion from a research hospital. When her treatments wrapped up, her doctors told her they didn’t expect her back. She was cancer free.

Coincidentally, the same week Meredith shared her story, she had surgery to investigate a lump she’d found under her arm. The lump was malignant. Her cancer came back. Needless to say, her doctors were all very surprised. The lump was in a tricky area near blood vessels, nerves, and scar tissue. She had a second surgery to make sure the margins were clean and then she began, what will ultimately be, 30 radiation treatments. The radiation is precautionary and preventive. “The doctor says I’m cancer free at this time,” she says, but Meredith and her doctors want to be sure the cancer is gone for good this time and doesn’t come back again. She goes for treatment every day and twice on Fridays so she can have it finished by the end of this month.

Despite the intense radiation, Meredith says she is feeling good. She doesn’t have a lot of fatigue and her skin is holding up. Her two youngest children have even been able to come to treatments with her. She says it helps them to see that she’s okay so they feel better about what’s going on. Her recurrence was pretty upsetting for all of them, but they’ve been able to keep a positive perspective. She says her husband summed it up pretty well when he said, “The short term sucks, but the long term looks good.” And, so far the kids all seem to be focusing on the long term and supporting their mom. “They like to wear their pink,” says Meredith.

Much like her first round with cancer, Meredith is being thorough and aggressive in her treatments. In addition to radiation, she is eating well and working out every day. This week, she is going to a research hospital for a second opinion on whether or not she should add more therapies to her current treatment. “The second opinion is more about doing chemo or if they have another suggestion,” says Meredith. Her doctors now aren’t recommending chemotherapy due to the risks associated with it. Long term effects of chemotherapy can include lung, heart and kidney problems as well as the risk of developing a second cancer.

Meredith has also started taking injections to force menopause as another preventive step. Once in menopause, she’s able to take a more effective medication than the one she has been taking. She says she doesn’t know what to expect from menopause, but she’s willing to do whatever she has to in order to keep the cancer from coming back. She’ll do the injections until maybe spring 2019 when she’ll have a hysterectomy and possibly an oophorectomy, where both ovaries are removed. That’s always been part of her preventive plan someday. “I’ve been putting it off for years,” she says. “I’m kind of kicking myself now.”

Vigilance about staying on top of your health is the message that Meredith most wants to share. Even when you’ve been told you’re cancer free, you have to check out every lump, every change that comes along. “Stay on top of it. Keep following up with it,” she says. Meredith says she’s learned that even though her cancer is gone, she still has a lot to do to make sure it stays that way. She’s cancer free, but not necessarily free from cancer. “I’m just going to keep doing what needs to be done,” she says.